Visiting the Nerja Cave

Known as the “Natural Cathedral of the Costa del Sol”, the Nerja Cave is not only famous for its rock formations, archaeological sites and cave paintings, but also for its famous International Festival of Music and Dance that takes place every year in July and August. Today we want to tell you everything you can’t miss if you decide to visit the Nerja Cave. 🥰✅

It is considered one of the most beautiful caves in the world and it has unique properties.

Cueva de Nerja – A little bit of history

Have you heard of Maro? It is a hamlet in the municipality of Nerja less than 4 kilometres from the town. It is the location of the Nerja Cave, discovered on the 12th of January 1959 by 5 young men who were walking around the area with the intention of catching bats in a well known as La Mina.

Once inside, one of them noticed a gust of air and when they got closer they saw an indentation but the stalactite did not allow them to enter. When they returned with the necessary tools they found several corpses and did not continue. Returning to the village and explaining to their relatives what had happened, the cave became of interest.

After all this, a doctor and a photographer went back to the cave and took some photographs that were published in the newspaper El Sur, something that contributed in time to understand the value of the find and that the Delegation of Archaeological Excavations of Malaga got involved in the search for a much easier entrance than the one initially found by those young people.

This search for another entrance was a great success, as it was discovered that due to the thousands of years the rocks had blocked one of the galleries.

After the opening of this new entrance and the carrying out of various archaeological excavations and refurbishment, the Nerja Cave was opened for tourism in 1960.

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What to know before visiting Nerja Cave

1. 1. It is located 159 metres above sea level and is more than 20,000 years old.
   2. It has 3 entrances.
   3. It is 4823 metres long and is the most topographically developed cave in Andalusia.
   4. The Nerja Cave is formed by a complex of rooms and corridors of almost 5 kilometres.
   5. It has the largest stalactite in the world, 33 metres high. This stalactite can be seen in the Hall of the Cataclysm.
   6. It is fundamental for the knowledge of prehistory as there are organic remains of paintings more than 42,000 years old.
   7. It is one of the most visited places in Andalusia today. You should bear this in mind when buying your tickets. We recommend you to buy them in advance from their official website.

Nerja Cave Price

As specified on their website, before visiting the Nerja Cave it is advisable to visit their website as prices and opening times change throughout the year.

The prices of the Nerja Cave vary according to 3 periods, low, medium and high season. There are also discounts for young people, children and seniors.

You can check all the information through this link. 

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If you like adventure tourism, we recommend you not to miss our post about the most spectacular caves in Malaga. You can also visit some of the most beautiful viewpoints in Malaga. 

Arriving at the Costa del Sol? Rent your car at Malaga airport and start enjoying.